Titling a trailer in VA without title

November 7th, 2012, 05:17 PM

I am looking at buying a boat from CO. I live in VA. The guy selling the boat says he doesn't have a title and says the guy he bought it from doesn't have it either. According to the VA DMV he should have had a title to title the trailer in CO.

I talked to the VA DMV and they said it would be quite difficult to title the trailer in VA without a title from the previous owner. Anyone know how to title a boat trailer in this situation? The trailer the boat is on now is supposed to be a nice one (I haven't seen it yet). I really don't want to have to trash this boat trailer and get another one.

I assume the trailer is already in Virginia? Otherwise no need to bring it here.

DMV is right--it is very hard, if not impossible. to get it titled in your name legitimately.

Some people call it "home made" to get it titled but I think that is false information to a government official and A Very Bad Thing.

Some people go through the abandoned trailer process to get title, as if it were abandoned on your property and you want to sell it. That is not Quite True, and is also a complicated and lengthy process, with costs associated with it.

By the way, there is talk about a local scam of people stealing trailers, they end up at a particular marina, who is selling them under the abandoned trailer process to get title. They are even hauling trailers out of legitimate storage places and swapping the stickers so the management doesn't know they are missing. The more that sort of thing goes on, the tougher DMV gets, in addition to all the Homeland Security stuff.

I recently titled a used trailer; I had the title signed over and a bill of sale, but the clerk gave me a hard time b/c the bill of sale didn't describe the trailer. Legally, the title is all you need. She was just being that way because she can. Also, I found that the trailer, a 2002, does not show a serial number on it, even though I am certain its title history is legit. That came up as an issue when getting it inspected.

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I assume the trailer is already in Virginia? Otherwise no need to bring it here.

The trailer is not in VA. I am thinking of buying a boat and trailer and bringing it here. The guy did not register the trailer in the state he lives because he doesn't have the title either. He borrows plates from a friend when he trailers the boat.

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I assume the trailer is already in Virginia? Otherwise no need to bring it here.

DMV is right--it is very hard, if not impossible. to get it titled in your name legitimately.

Some people call it "home made" to get it titled but I think that is false information to a government official and A Very Bad Thing.

Some people go through the abandoned trailer process to get title, as if it were abandoned on your property and you want to sell it. That is not Quite True, and is also a complicated and lengthy process, with costs associated with it.

By the way, there is talk about a local scam of people stealing trailers, they end up at a particular marina, who is selling them under the abandoned trailer process to get title. They are even hauling trailers out of legitimate storage places and swapping the stickers so the management doesn't know they are missing. The more that sort of thing goes on, the tougher DMV gets, in addition to all the Homeland Security stuff.

I recently titled a used trailer; I had the title signed over and a bill of sale, but the clerk gave me a hard time b/c the bill of sale didn't describe the trailer. Legally, the title is all you need. She was just being that way because she can. Also, I found that the trailer, a 2002, does not show a serial number on it, even though I am certain its title history is legit. That came up as an issue when getting it inspected.

Another crazy example of laws run amok.

Is there such a thing as a reconstructed title in VA. Like someone who built there own and needs it titled.I used to build motorcycles here in Pa in the late 60's and 70's. We had to get them retitled reconstructed.They had to be inspected prior to being titled.

Assault Squadron NINE
River Assault Division NINETY-ONE-1966

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If the trailer has been titled before in the State of Colorado, a duplicate title can be obtained by the previous owner. He could then sign the title over to you. In many states, applications and titles can be obtained in person at the Secretary of State.

You've just got to be careful. If you're driving 1700 miles to buy a boat, it better really be a good buy. I'd probably pass on that one--as Colorado is just too far away and things are often different upon inspection.

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If the owner is "borrowing plates from a friend" then he's already scamming the system, breaking the law, etc. That would give me great hesitation to buy from him. Especially something without a title.
As someone who lives in VA I can attest that if you don't have a title you are pretty much out of luck. Getting an abandonment title is a long complicated ordeal.
You would be better off to buy a new trailer in CO with a title to go with your boat. Let the current owner keep the trailer or sell it out there. I realize that would probably be a deal breaker.

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Let's rephrase this nicely;
Some guy who didn't legally own the boat, sold it to another guy who now legally does not own it, wants to sell it to you.

Or to put it not so nicely;
Some guy in CO has a stolen a boat.
He claims he bought it from another guy and wants to sell it to you before he gets caught driving it around on "Borrowed" plates.

But the price is so good you can't pass up this deal even if you have to drive a thousand miles to give him your money.
If the deal is too good to be true....

The deal for the boat is reasonable. However, there are others around. In all of the cases I am considering I would have to go out of state to get what I want, it's just a case of how far I am willing to go. No one boat of the ones I am looking at is the "perfect one". They all have some good points and some bad points it is just evaluating the trade offs vs. the prices. I am going to talk to another DMV office and see if I can get a definitive answer about the title thing. If it is too difficult and the guy doesn't knock a fair amount off his price for having to either deal with the no title business or get another trailer then I'll cross that boat off the list of candidates. Even if he does come down in price, I'd still have to go inspect the boat and see if it is still worth it.

Even if the boat thing doesn't work out I have a relative that lives in CO near where the boat is, so the trip won't be a total loss. I'd have him go look at the boat, but he's not into boats and wouldn't know what to look for. He would be able to tell if it is not at all like the pictures, but wouldn't know what details to check.

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But the price is so good you can't pass up this deal even if you have to drive a thousand miles to give him your money.
If the deal is too good to be true....

I'm with Uncle Willie on this: I would run in the other direction. You are likely to be left high and dry without legal recourse. If it were easy for this guy to get a title he would have done so. If you drive all the way out there, you're going to have a sense of "might as well not waste the trip" coloring your thinking when you see the boat. Any problems you subsequently have are going to have a remedy all the way on the other side of the country. You are going to end up screwed.

You can't find a legitimate deal in Virginia? Or one of your neighboring states?

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this whole thing makes no sense. Any used boat that can reasonably be trailered across the country has to be under 20 feet, and therefore selling for up to $15,000. How can the deal be worth 8 days of driving and 8 days of gas, and that at very low MPG for the trip home?
And then there's the 75% chance that either the boat will be gone when you get there or not worth the price--but if the seller knows you just drove 4 days he's not dropping a cent off the price. You are committed to buying it after the first half day's drive!

And driving an unknown trailer for 4 days of highway is a big risk on it's own. Be ready to buy some tires!

You're on the coast, the land of great saltwater boats, and you want to import a lake boat?

I don't think the seller is scamming you, I think you are scamming yourself! or to "rephrase nicely" Since you shouldn't buy an untitled trailer right here in Virginia, why on God's green earth would you go get one from all the way across the country?

I bet if you tell us what boat you are looking for, we can find a dozen within a day's drive.

Uncle Willie, I think he said the trailer, not the boat, is not titled. But your point is well taken.

Thalasso, if you title a non-homemade trailer as homemade, you are lying to the DMV.

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I bet if you tell us what boat you are looking for, we can find a dozen within a day's drive.

The boats I am looking at are C-Dory 22 Cruisers. The Admiral is quite keen on this type. They are designed to be trailerable.

I have found one for sale nearby, but it is a 1990 boat. There are some others I found that are 2004 through 2006, but they are located in other states. The closest one is in CT. There are others in FL, CA, and WA. The Admiral favors a newer boat. The 2006 model year boat has some factory improvements that are not in earlier boats that would be nice to have but are not mandatory for my use.

Being used boats there are tradeoffs in equipment. I have not personally seen any of the boats that are for sale yet nor done any pushing on the price. But on the surface the difference in asking prices (CT boat vs CO boat) will cover a trip to CO and back to get the one there to VA. However, that was before the whole trailer thing came up.

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ssobol:
I am in Chesapeake. I just went through the entire cluster of trying to get a trailer registered with no title. I had a bill of sale, went through the process of mailing the forms that they told me I needed to Richmond etc. I was rejected anyway. In the rejection letter, they will ask for a certificate of origin which was impossible for me to get due to the age of the trailer or a registration card from the previous owner which you may be able to get but I couldn't.

I investigated the homemade thing, it runs $125 for the inspector to come out. If they find it is not homemade they will fine you. If you claim that you can't get the paperwork as I did, they will suggest that you have the title investigated by their agent, again $125. It is essentially impossible to get this done. If this is truly the boat for you I would suggest this:

Needless to say I have Maine plates on my trailer now. I asked the DMV rep if it would be an issue, they said as long as the trailer is conforming to the laws of Maine ,that they can do nothing. I got 5 years registration for just over $100 including the sales tax (5% compared to 3.5% in VA). I imagine it will be higher for you; I only paid $200 for the trailer. I was paying the same for 2 years in VA. I felt kind of guilty because of the sales tax going to Maine but the DMV basically told me to do what I had to do. If you decide to do this, print the Bill of Sale form on their site and get it signed by the seller. When you get back e-mail them the completed form, they will take your card info over the phone. I got my plate and registration in 4 days. Done deal.

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Needless to say I have Maine plates on my trailer now. I asked the DMV rep if it would be an issue, they said as long as the trailer is conforming to the laws of Maine ,that they can do nothing.

An interesting idea. However, with cars anyway, you are supposed to title them in VA within 30 days of becoming a resident of the state. I don't know if this applies to trailers (apparently not), but if you have an encounter with the police can they get you for that?

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If you are serious about the boat, could you find a different trailer for it? Having successfully been through the registering and titling without a title or vin, I would not want that trailer...

Yes, I could get another trailer. I was quoted $2200 locally for one (plus some $ for fitting it to the boat). I'd still have to dispose of the current trailer. This seems to be the easiest option. I will consider it if I can get the guy to come off his price by at least that amount before pursuing this further.